Texas State Highway 73

State Highway 73
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	42.02 mi[1] (67.62 km)
Existed:	1941 – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-10 in Winnie
	US 69 / US 96 / US 287 in Port Arthur
East end:	I-10 near Orange
Location
Counties:	Chambers, Jefferson, Orange
Highway system
Highways in Texas Interstate US State Toll Loops Spurs FM/RM Park Rec ← SH 72 SH 74 →

State Highway 73 (SH 73) is a Texas state highway that runs 42 miles (68 km) from Winnie through Port Arthur to near Orange.

In September 2008, Hurricane Ike forced the closure of SH 73. Among other road debris left by the storm were two 200-ton barges. The storm surge pushed the barges almost 10 miles (16 km) before they came to rest on the highway.^[2]

History

Previous routes

The original SH 73 was designated in 1926 from Oldenburg to Houston. By 1933, it was rerouted southwest to Columbus, white a portion of the old route being transferred to SH 159. By 1941, the route was adjusted so that, instead of extending west from Houston, it was now designated east from Houston to Port Arthur. This was previously SH 228. Construction was slow, with only small portions outside Houston, Port Arthur, and the stretch from Winnie to Anahuac (signed as 73-T) completed by 1954. In 1961, the route was shortened from Port Arthur to Winnie, with the western portions having been replaced by Interstate 10 (I-10). SH 73-T was transferred to SH 65. In 1982, the route was extended along its current route to Orange, along a concurrent route with SH 87 and SH 62.

SH 73A was designated in 1927 from SH 73 in Fayetteville to Hempstead as a replacement for SH 3C. By 1931, this route was renumbered as SH 159.

In popular culture

SH 73 is shown as a road sign in the opening 10 seconds of the 1941 movie Moon Over Miami immediately following the opening credits. There is no mention of the city in that film. A similar road sign of SH 73 is also depicted on the set of The Partridge Family.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Chambers	​			I-10 west / FM 1406 – Houston	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; I-10 exit 828
	​			SH 124 south / FM 1663 – Winnie, Galveston	West end of SH 124 concurrency
	​			Broussard Road	eastbound exit only
Chambers–Jefferson county line	​			FM 1406	at-grade intersection; east end of freeway
Jefferson	​			SH 124 north – Beaumont, Fannett, Hamshire	East end of SH 124 concurrency
	Port Arthur			Spur 93 north – Beaumont
				SH 82 south – Cameron	interchange; west end of freeway
				Spur 215 (Savannah Avenue)
				US 69 / US 96 / US 287 (Memorial Boulevard) – Beaumont, Airport
				9th Avenue
				SH 347 – Nederland
	Groves			39th Street - Groves	no direct westbound exit (signed at 32nd Street)
				32nd Street / Main Avenue
				25th Street - Groves
	Port Arthur			SH 87 south – Port Arthur	West end of SH 87 concurrency; no direct eastbound exit (signed at 25th Street)
				Taft Avenue / Procter Street
				FM 366 – Groves, Port Neches	interchange; east end of freeway; no direct eastbound exit (signed at Taft Avenue / Procter Street)
Neches River				Veterans Memorial Bridge / Rainbow Bridge
Orange	Bridge City			FM 1442 north
	​			Cow Bayou Swing Bridge over Cow Bayou
	​			SH 87 north	East end of SH 87 concurrency; west end of SH 62 concurrency
	Orange			FM 105 – Orangefield, Orange
				I-10 (US 90) / SH 62 north – Beaumont, Lake Charles	I-10 exit 873; east end of SH 62 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• Texas portal
• U.S. Roads portal

References

1. Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "State Highway No. 73". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
2. Myers, Ryan (September 21, 2008). "Demolition team works to clear barges from Texas 73". Beaumont Enterprise. Retrieved April 4, 2012.